Jensen Woods Camp sold to St. Louis developer

The trustees of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference of The United Methodist Church announced Feb. 28 they have reached agreement for the sale of the 550-acre property located in northwestern Brown County, Ill., that previously was the site of Jensen Woods Camp.

Annual Conference information

The Annual Conference will get underway at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 7, with workshops and conclude by noon on Saturday, June 9 following the Service of Ordination.

At 1 p.m., the Thursday afternoon agenda includes an opening worship service with Bishop Beard preaching and installing new District Superintendents Stan Irvin and James Barnett in the Cache and Vermilion River districts. Those districts will then plan welcoming events in the fall but the entire conference will celebrate the appointments and assignments of these new conference superintendents.

At 2 p.m., clergy and laity will hold their respective sessions with laity in Halls B and C and clergy in the Grand Ballroom on the fourth floor. The full session will reconvene at 4 p.m. and work until the supper break at 5:30 p.m. The Memorial Service is slated for 7 p.m.

The entire Annual Conference schedule is still being finalized and will be published to a Sched app which will be accessible to everyone. The Sched app also allows for last-minute changes that are pushed out to everyone who is using it.

New process for Annual Conference materials

All 2018 Conference Registration Material packets will be picked up ON SITE in the Registration Office in the Terrazo Lobby beginning Thursday, June 7 at 7:30 a.m.

Online registration begins April 2 and ends May 17.

Two sketches of A Way Forward presented to Council of Bishops

What is Christ’s way forward for doing mission and ministry in the worldwide United Methodist Church? That is the question bishops pondered during their February meeting in Dallas this week as they received an updated report from the  Commission on a Way Forward.

In the report given to the Council this week, the Commission shared with the bishops two sketches that carry forward many of the values and principles of the three sketches that were presented to the bishops at  their meeting in November .

Let's be open to Christ changing our minds

Council of Bishops President Bishop Bruce Ough has urged his fellow bishops to be open to Christ changing their minds as they counter disagreements and to be prepared to lead The United Methodist Church into uncharted territories.

Bishop Ough issued the challenge Feb. 25, at the opening of the special meeting of the Council of Bishops as the top leaders in the denominations began to receive an updated report from the  Commission on a Way Forward .

In a sermon entitled “ On Changing Our Minds ,” which also doubled as his presidential address, Bishop Ough called on his colleagues to unbind United Methodists and guide them home.

EZRA Year-End Reporting link posted on website, church portal

As churches prepare for their 2017 Year-End Reports, a link has been posted at the top of the IGRC Homepage that will take you to the log-in screen for year-end reporting. You can also log into to the Church Portal Page on the IGRC website and a link to the sign-in page for Ezra is provided within the portal. More details can be found in the Year-End reporting page under Finance and Benefits or by clicking the button below.

The filing deadline is March 31.



Sexual ethics makeup session

A Sexual Ethics Training makeup session has been scheduled for those who were unable to attend any of the three February sessions, on Saturday, June 23, at the Sugar Creek UMC, 1022 New City Road, Chatham. Because of heavy registration in the past week, please note the change in location. The session will be from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and is is mandatory for all pastors and laypersons appointed or assigned to local churches.

Registration is open through June 16.